MiR-543 Regulates the Development of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease by Targeting Interleukin-33

This main aim of the study was to evaluate the expression and specific role of miR-543 in the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), thereby evaluating their diagnostic ability and treatment in COPD patients.

Real time PCR was carried out to explore the level of miR-543 in the plasma and lung tissues of COPD patients and controls. ELISA was performed to analyze the level of interleukin-33 (IL-33). Dual luciferase was used to validate the target gene of miR-543.

First, we showed that the level of miR-543 was increased in the plasma and lung tissues of COPD patients than those of healthy control. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that plasma miR-543 could differentiate COPD patients from healthy controls. More importantly, we found that plasma miR-543 was gradually decreased in COPD patients according to FEV1 ≤ 80% (mild), 50% ≤ FEV1 < 80% (moderate), 30% ≤ FEV1 < 50% (moderate), FEV1 < 30% (very severe). Meanwhile, miR-543 was also decreased in COPD patients according to 6MWD ≥ 350 m (mild), 250 m ≤ 6MWD < 349 m (moderate), 150 m ≤ 6MWD < 249 m (severe), and 6MWD ≤ 149 m (very severe). Dual luciferase reporter assay showed that IL-33 was a target gene of miR-543.

In summary, we showed novel data that decreased plasma miR-543 may enhance the progression of COPD via targeting IL-33. Furthermore, plasma miR-543 could be used as a potential non-invasive biomarker for COPD patients, which may shed light on the diagnosis and therapy of COPD.